Starting with a blind date with a female constable, you acquire the Nine Swords of Dugu.

Chapter Thirteen: Behind the Scenes

The following day, in the evening.

The snow outside the window had stopped sometime ago, and dusk was rolling in from all directions, enveloping the entire Changxian County in a hazy, twilight.

Gu Guanqi sat cross-legged on the bed, his true energy slowly receding and returning to his dantian.

He finally refined all the medicinal power of the Golden Scale Spirit Eel Blood Pill.

It took a full day and night to combine the innate skill with the medicinal power of the Golden Scale Spirit Eel Blood Pill.

At this point,

It finally ended.

Gu Guanqi opened his eyes, a flash of brilliance in them disappearing in an instant before returning to calm, like the still waters of a deep pool.

He slowly stood up, feeling an unprecedented abundance of true energy within his body. The innate true energy in his dantian rose and fell like the tide, wave after wave, endlessly.

His physique also underwent a qualitative change. The medicinal power penetrated his skin, flesh, muscles, and bones, transforming his entire body. He possessed immense strength within his body, and his every move seemed to exude boundless power. Furthermore, his immunity to all poisons caused a qualitative transformation in his body.

Even more subtle is the state of "unity of heaven and man" brought about by the Innate Skill.

This gave him a more detached and otherworldly air.

He sat there, seemingly blending into nature, as if surrounded by a wisp of pure energy, with an air of otherworldly grace between his brows.

Jiang Baili sat at the table, holding a book in her hands, her gaze fixed on Gu Guanqi.

She stared at Gu Guanqi for a long while before softly asking, "Brother, are you finished with your breakthrough?"

Gu Guanqi turned around, smiled slightly, and nodded, saying, "It's over."

Jiang Baili then asked, "Does that mean my problem will be cured soon?"

Gu Guanqi walked to the table, sat down opposite Jiang Baili, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and slowly said, "It will take at most ten days. Not only can it cure the disease completely, but it can also help you thoroughly harmonize your disordered Yin and Yang energies. By then, you won't have to suffer from the cold anymore."

Originally, Gu Guanqi used the Purple Cloud True Qi to guide the healing, and the so-called two-month cure was to help Jiang Baili suppress the extreme Yin True Qi. To truly cure the problem, Jiang Baili still needed to cultivate on his own to replenish the extreme Yang True Qi.

but now,

Gu Guanqi used his innate true qi to treat the illness, which directly forced out the cold qi and harmonized the true qi, thus harmonizing the extreme yin and extreme yang true qi in Jiang Baili's dantian.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baili's eyes brightened slightly, but she quickly lowered her gaze and returned to the book in her hands. Her fingers gently turned the pages, as if she were pondering something.

Gu Guanqi followed her gaze and looked at the book cover.

It was a thin booklet, its paper badly worn, clearly a book that had been frequently read. Then he saw four large characters printed on the cover—

"The Joys of the Boudoir".

And it even comes with illustrations.

Gu Guanqi was slightly taken aback, and asked suspiciously, "Little Fish, do you know what kind of book this is?"

Jiang Baili nodded slightly.

Gu Guanqi asked, "Then why do you still read these kinds of books?"

Jiang Baili said calmly, "The affairs of the bedroom are also a way for husband and wife to get along. This book explains it in detail, and I need to study it."

"Did Zhu Jing give it to you?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Jiang Baili nodded and said, "Zhu Jing is a good person. This book was her treasured possession, and she gave it to me."

Gu Guanqi: "..."

He took a deep breath and said, "Whether Zhu Jing is a good person or not is another matter for now, but I think you should probably avoid reading this book."

"it is good."

Jiang Baili closed the book and said, "If my brother says not to read it, then I won't read it."

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly.

Jiang Baili then said, "Brother, once my internal energy imbalance is cured, we can share a room."

Gu Guanqi quickly said, "Don't let Zhu Jing lead you astray. We're not husband and wife yet."

"Hmm." Jiang Baili asked, "Brother, don't you want to marry me?"

"That's not how it is." Gu Guanqi quickly put down his teacup and said, "Let's talk about it later. Let's eat first, I'm hungry!"

"it is good."

Jiang Baili responded, put the book into her bundle, then stood up, walked to Gu Guanqi's side, and naturally reached out to take his hand.

The two walked out of the room side by side and went downstairs.

……

For the next few days, Gu Guanqi spent his time treating Jiang Baili's injuries and playing with her.

It's been snowing for the past few days.

It added a touch of charm to this ordinary little county town. The two of them wandered through the streets and alleys, which made Jiang Baili seem more down-to-earth.

During this period,

This caused a huge uproar in the martial arts world.

First came the various martial arts sects of Qingzhou. After the kidnapped family members were rescued, the sect leaders were both shocked and furious. They joined forces to challenge the Wenjian Sect, demanding an explanation, and headed straight for Wenjian Mountain.

Immediately afterwards, Xue Guanyin Wen Qiuchi personally arrived in Qingzhou, declaring that he would storm Wenjian Mountain and confront Wenjian Sect Leader Liuyun Venerable Shang Guzhou in front of all the martial arts heroes.

On the other hand, the Wenjian Sect immediately issued a clarification, firmly denying that it had kidnapped fellow martial artists or that it had distorted the facts to frame the Guanyin Sect.

As for Elder Pang Renfeng, he has indeed disappeared, but it is absolutely impossible that he went to collude with unorthodox sects to kidnap the relatives of fellow martial artists. Wenjian Sect will definitely investigate and find out the truth.

But this explanation was hardly convincing.

A few days later, the investigation by the Six Doors yielded results. Based on the mine in Chang County, they followed the clues and found that all the leads pointed to Pang Renfeng, and they also found concrete clues that he had appeared in Cangzhou and Yunzhou.

All the evidence points to the Wenjian Sect.

Suddenly, everyone was against the Wenjian Sect. Originally, the plan was to hold a martial arts conference on Wenjian Mountain to attack the Guanyin Sect, but now the tide had turned and the attack had turned into an attack on the Wenjian Sect.

The world of martial arts is in turmoil, with undercurrents surging beneath the surface.

……

That afternoon, after the snow had cleared, sunlight shone through the clouds and fell on the snow, making it gleam white.

Gu Guanqi and Jiang Baili returned from their walk.

The two walked hand in hand into the inn.

The waiter quickly greeted them.

Gu Guanqi and Jiang Baili had been staying here for quite some time and had become quite familiar with the waiters.

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly in response, but out of the corner of his eye he suddenly noticed a familiar face sitting by the window.

It was none other than Yan Wangchuan.

Yan Wangchuan, dressed in a dark blue brocade robe with a long sword hanging at his waist and a cup of tea in his hand, looked at Gu Guanqi and Jiang Baili with a smile. He couldn't help but smile mockingly when he saw the two holding hands.

Gu Guanqi was slightly taken aback, then led Jiang Baili over and asked, "Old Yan, what brings you here?"

Yan Wangchuan put down his teacup and clicked his tongue in admiration, "I knew I was right, you're a womanizer. No matter which girl it is, after spending some time with you, she'll end up with you... tsk tsk tsk, speaking of which, have you been practicing some kind of seductive arts?"

Gu Guanqi waved his hand and said, "Don't joke around, old man. How many men can master the art of seduction? Not everyone is Mei Ruolian."

Yan Wangchuan chuckled, his gaze sweeping over Gu Guanqi, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes: "So you've caught some of Jiang Baili's ethereal aura? You seem to have a touch of otherworldly grace about you. Tell me honestly, what did you do to that girl?"

Gu Guanqi chuckled and said, "Don't make wild guesses. It's just that I've recently made a small breakthrough in my internal energy. I cultivate Taoist internal energy, and every breakthrough naturally brings some minor changes."

Gu Guanqi explained and sat down opposite Yan Wangchuan.

Jiang Baili also sat down quietly to the side without saying a word.

"So, what brings you to Chang County, sir?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Yan Wangchuan took a sip of tea and said, "You should know about the matter of the Sword Inquiry Sect, right? After all, this matter started with you."

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly. Although he had been spending most of his time with Jiang Baili these past few days, there were also some martial arts forces in Chang County, and he had heard a lot about what was going on in the martial arts world. Naturally, he also knew about the current situation of Wenjian Sect being in the eye of the storm.

"So, you're going to Duanjiang County, passing through Chang County?" Gu Guanqi asked.

Yan Wangchuan nodded, then shook his head, and said, "Now that the various martial arts sects in Qingzhou are going to attack the Wenjian Sect, there is going to be a big mess in Duanjiang County. As the deputy prefect of Zhenfu, I naturally have to rush over to control the situation."

But I came to Chang County not just passing through, but specifically to see you. I heard you encountered great danger here and almost lost your life, which still frightens me. Since I was on my way to Duanjiang County, I changed my route to come and see you.”

"I'm sorry to have worried you!" Gu Guanqi said, "Actually, it wasn't that serious. At the time..."

immediately,

Gu Guanqi then gave Yan Wangchuan a general account of what had happened.

After listening,

Yan Wangchuan said, "As the saying goes, 'Those who survive a great calamity are destined for good fortune,' and your good fortune is yet to come!"

"Thank you for your kind words." Gu Guanqi smiled and asked, "By the way, Elder Yan, this matter seems to have a bit of a timeline. According to the current rumors in the martial arts world, the Sword Inquiry Sect has been planning to frame the Guanyin Sect for a long time, but the Heavenly Demon Sect is in turmoil, and the Guanyin Sect has only been around for less than two months!"

Yan Wangchuan said in a deep voice: "Because the Wenjian Sect also has a background. For ordinary people, the Guanyin Sect incident only happened less than two months ago. In fact, the internal strife of the Tianmo Sect happened half a year ago."

However, Wen Qiuchi was still dealing with internal affairs at that time, and the imperial court helped suppress the news so it didn't get out. But the Wenjian Sect did know very early on that the Guanyin Sect was going to establish a sect in Qingzhou, so they really had the time to make preparations.

Pang Renfeng left Qingzhou three months ago under the pretext of visiting relatives. Now, the Six Doors have considerable evidence to prove that Pang Renfeng, under the guise of Lei Ming, traveled between Yunzhou and Cangzhou for the past three months, gathering a large number of unorthodox and unorthodox individuals.

"I see!" Gu Guanqi nodded slightly and said, "Let's not talk about that now. It's almost lunchtime, Elder Yan, let's have a meal together!"

"No, thank you."

Yan Wangchuan said, "I have official business to attend to and must get to Duanjiang County as soon as possible. My colleagues are waiting for me. I was just taking a detour to see you anyway, and it wouldn't be appropriate to linger any longer."

Gu Guanqi could sense Yan Wangchuan's heartfelt concern and was touched. She said, "Thank you for your trouble!"

"Why would I worry?" Yan Wangchuan chuckled. "You're a lucky guy with great martial arts skills, so nothing will happen to you."

After all,

Yan Wangchuan stood up and said, "I'm leaving." As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Baili, smiled slightly, and said, "I hope I can attend your wedding after this matter is over. Well, it can't just be a wedding banquet; you don't have any elders or anything in your family. Let me make it clear beforehand: you pay for it yourself, and I'll take care of the arrangements!"

"Then thank you very much, Elder Yan!" Gu Guanqi bowed and expressed his gratitude.

Yan Wangchuan waved his hand, strode out of the inn, and then walked faster and faster until he disappeared from sight.

Gu Guanqi chuckled and remarked, "At your age, you're still in such a rush when you walk!"

at this time,

The waiter approached with a smile and said, "Young Master Gu, the customer just now paid two taels of silver for his drinks, and that's on your tab!"

Gu Guanqi: "..."

……

On the long street, Yan Wangchuan was walking with several of his men. He chuckled, picked up a gourd, uncorked it, and was about to take a sip.

Suddenly, he stopped moving and said in a deep voice, "Something's not right!"

"Sir, what's wrong?" A young constable beside him asked, puzzled.

Yan Wangchuan didn't answer immediately. He slowly put down the gourd, plugged it, and said slowly, "The mine isn't right. What Gu Guanqi just said seems to be that the masked man deliberately lured him into the cave, intending to take him down with him! What kind of good person would create a trap to kill themselves instead of an escape route?"

Yan Wangchuan frowned, as if talking to himself, or perhaps analyzing: "I originally assumed that Gu Guanqi and Pang Renfeng's fight in the mine unintentionally caused the lake to overflow—that would be reasonable. But if it was a deliberately arranged suicide attack, then that doesn't make sense!"

Speaking of which,

Yan Wangchuan turned around immediately and said, "No, I still need to go and ask Gu Guanqi again in detail."

immediately,

Yan Wangchuan then returned to the inn once again.

At this moment, Gu Guanqi was administering acupuncture to Jiang Baili.

This is also the last acupuncture session. After this session, the coldness in Jiang Baili's body will be completely expelled, and her vital energy will be completely stabilized and return to normal.

Gu Guanqi finished administering acupuncture soon.

Jiang Baili stayed in the room to regulate his internal energy, while he went out to see Yan Wangchuan.

Seeing Yan Wangchuan return, Gu Guanqi couldn't help but tease, "Old Yan, did you remember you forgot to pay for the drinks?"

Yan Wangchuan grinned and said, "You're so stingy, just a pot of wine. You're not short of money."

While speaking,

Yan Wangchuan and Gu Guanqi walked to the next room together, and then Yan Wangchuan said, "Tell me again what happened in the mine. Be sure to be careful and don't miss any details."

Gu Guanqi was somewhat puzzled, but she still explained it again.

After speaking, Gu Guanqi asked, "Old Yan, is there some hidden reason behind this?"

"Don't you think it's unreasonable for that masked man to want to die with you?" Yan Wangchuan said.

Gu Guanqi was slightly taken aback and said, "I really didn't think that much about it. After all, I ruined his plan and chased him to the brink of despair. It's normal for him to want to die with me."

Yan Wangchuan said, "That's normal, but that trap wasn't an accident; it was clearly pre-planned, which seems very unreasonable. Did they know you would go?

Gu Guanqi was slightly taken aback.

Yan Wangchuan continued, "First, let's assume that the current evidence is correct: the Wenjian Sect deliberately impersonated the Guanyin Sect behind the scenes in order to unify the martial arts world of Qingzhou, thus inciting hatred and righteous indignation among the martial arts world of Qingzhou."

The other side's plan must be to kidnap people first, and then when the time is right, have their own people from the Sword Inquiry Sect rescue the kidnapped people, and then let the fake Lei Ming escape.

Ideally, during this journey, the hostages would suffer heavy casualties, after which the hatred among the various martial arts factions in Qingzhou would reach its peak. The Wenjian Sect could then seize this opportunity to raise its banner, and the masses would respond, thus establishing the Qingzhou Martial Arts Alliance to punish the Guanyin Sect.

Gu Guanqi nodded slightly.

Yan Wangchuan said, "So why design a trap that leads to mutual destruction? If it's just a precaution, then it shouldn't be a trap to kill each other, but rather an escape route."

Gu Guanqi nodded and said, "That makes sense, but could it be because I ruined their plans in Luoxia County that they guessed I would investigate, so they devised this plan on the spot?"

Yan Wangchuan shook his head and said, "First, if they really knew you were investigating, they should have moved away immediately instead of waiting for you there. Second, that mine is deep and complex; designing such a trap to divert lake water couldn't be done in just a few days. And you only spent a few days appearing in Luoxia County and then entering the mine?"

Gu Guanqi's pupils contracted slightly as he said, "So, the crisis I encountered there wasn't an accident I initially thought it was, but rather an inevitable event. If that's the case, then it's not necessarily the work of the Sword Inquiry Sect!"

Yan Wangchuan said, "If we exclude the Wenjian Sect, then whoever benefits from this incident is the one who does it. And without a doubt, the biggest beneficiary right now is the Guanyin Sect."

Originally, the Guanyin Sect faced numerous difficulties in establishing itself in Qingzhou. However, now, the Guanyin Sect stands on the same side as other martial arts sects. In fact, the Guanyin Sect is now leading the effort to attack the Wenjian Sect, as other sects lack the confidence to face the two grandmasters of the Wenjian Sect. Qingtai Temple does have a grandmaster, but it never participates in martial arts conflicts.

Now, as long as the Guanyin Sect doesn't try to establish a martial arts alliance, no one in the Qingzhou martial arts world will object; in fact, all the sects have tacitly agreed to the Guanyin Sect establishing itself in Qingzhou. Naturally, there's no reason to stop the Guanyin Sect from establishing itself. Therefore, the Guanyin Sect not only successfully established itself but also eliminated its biggest competitor, the Wenjian Sect.

Gu Guanqi raised an eyebrow and said, "That actually makes sense!"

Yan Wangchuan nodded and said, "Let's make another assumption: if it was Guanyin who taught the performance, would that make sense?"

Three months ago, they killed Pang Renfeng, and then had someone disguise themselves as Pang Renfeng and appear from time to time to leave traces and evidence. Then they started a ruse, first claiming that the Guanyin Sect wanted to establish a martial arts alliance to make a big fuss, and then adding fuel to the fire by kidnapping the relatives of the leaders of various factions, directly escalating the conflict to the extreme.

Then, if the blame is shifted to the Wenjian Sect, the Guanyin Sect will immediately become the victim and represent justice. Wen Qiuchi's goal was never to establish a martial arts alliance, but to successfully establish a sect and destroy the Wenjian Sect. The Guanyin Sect will be able to devour the martial arts world of Qingzhou in just a few years.

The only flaw in this whole affair is that Wen Qiuchi might genuinely hate you. Perhaps thinking that the Guanyin Sect would be a reputable and righteous sect in the future, making it difficult to take revenge on you, he arranged to kill you first.

So, they deliberately set up a trap in the mine, and then used the Luoxia County incident to lure you to the mine. To be on the safe side, they even included the Five Tigers of Fang County who were wiped out, and arranged for Fire Phoenix to be by your side, all to ensure that you would be lured to the mine.

"But if you had died in the mine back then, and the mine is now flooded by the lake, no one would know there was a trap specifically set for you there. They would just instinctively assume that your fight with Pang Renfeng caused the lake to flood."

Gu Guanqi thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense, but there's one inconsistency. It was ultimately me who saw Pang Renfeng's true face, which sparked the various sects' attack on the Wenjian Sect. If the Guanyin Sect wanted to kill me, there would be no need to frame the Wenjian Sect. If they wanted to frame the Wenjian Sect, they wouldn't kill me; instead, they would use me to cripple the sect. These two things contradict each other!"

Yan Wangchuan waved his hand and said, "It doesn't conflict, because regardless of whether you saw Pang Renfeng's face in the mine or not, if you follow the mine route, you will eventually find Pang Renfeng."

It's just that if you see it, then you're the one to light the first fire; if you don't see it, someone else will light it.

Simply put, once the mine is discovered, both the Six Doors and various martial arts sects will follow the clues and uncover evidence pointing to Pang Renfeng and the Wenjian Sect. Your role in this is not important; in fact, you've indirectly helped the Wenjian Sect.

"Because without your involvement, many of those hostages would have perished inside and couldn't have been rescued. At that time, the leaders of all factions would have been filled with grief and rage, losing their minds and becoming even more violent than they are now. They would have directly stormed Mount Wenjian. But now, the vast majority of people are still maintaining their rationality."

Gu Guanqi thought for a moment and said, "But this is just speculation, and it can't be verified."

Yan Wangchuan quickly said, "This is easy to verify."

Gu Guanqi looked up at him: "How do you verify it?"

Yan Wangchuan said, "Such a large abandoned mine shaft, most people can't even distinguish the routes inside, so it's impossible to set up such precise traps."

He paused, then said, word by word, "The person who could design such a trap, and so cleverly utilize the mountaintop lake, must be someone extremely familiar with the mine's structure. And the person most familiar with the mine, besides the craftsmen who designed it back then, would be no one else."

Gu Guanqi said, "The mine was opened by the government back then, so those people should have records with the county government. It should be easy to check!"

"Yes," Yan Wangchuan nodded, "but you have to come with me."

"Why?" Gu Guanqi asked, puzzled. "I don't know how to investigate cases."

"I'll handle the investigation," Yan Wangchuan said. "Based on my years of experience investigating cases, when you have such crucial clues, the investigation usually doesn't go smoothly, and you might even encounter the real killer lying in wait. So, I feel safer with you by my side!"

Gu Guanqi: "..."

Subsequently,

After giving Jiang Baili a few instructions, he left with Yan Wangchuan.